Islam didn’t start with Muhammad

There is no verse in the Koran that claims that Muhammad started Islam either directly or by implication,
writes Ahmed Wetaka

One of the biggest errors attributed to Prophet Muhammad is the claim that he founded Islam. As a pupil, I was taught in primary school that Muhammad founded Islam in 610 AD.

Josue Okoth in his article “Islam and Christianity Share Little in Common” published in Sunday Life, repeats the same claim. Okoth says that historically Islam started from Saudi Arabia where Muhammad was born, but does not produce any proof from any of the authentic Islamic resources to justify the claim.

Naturally, if one is interested in finding out anything about Islam, the first source should be the Koran and Hadith - the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

No verse in the Koran says that Muhammad started Islam. The Koran clearly states that Muhammad only followed in the footsteps of previous prophets but didn’t bring any new religion. According to Islam, all prophets taught the same message of Islamic monotheism.

They were human beings who taught the people around them about faith in One Almighty God, and how to walk on the path of righteousness. Some prophets also revealed God’s word through books of revelation. It is this message that Prophet Muhammad came to fulfill.

Koran 42: 13: “The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Nuh, that which we have sent by inspiration to thee and that which we enjoined on Abraham, Moses and Jesus namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein.”
In the Koran, Prophet Muhammad is ordered by Allah to devote himself to Islamic monotheism.

In fact, in another verse, the Koran shows that Muhammad followed and believed what the other messengers before him taught. Koran 2:285: “The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one of them believes in God, His angels, His books, and His Messengers.”

According to the Koran, Islam was only perfected in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad. 5:3: “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion.”

Islam is a universal religion that was inherited by Muhammad from the other prophets. It is not surprising that Islam requires Muslims to believe in all the prophets. This includes not just Prophet Ibrahim but his sons Ismail, Ishaq and his grandson, Yaqub.

When it comes to the five pillars of Islam, the importance of Prophet Ibrahim becomes even more evident. The second pillar of Islam is Salah, the obligatory five daily prayers. Every Muslim who has reached the age of puberty is accountable for their prayers.

During one part of each of these five prayers, Muslims must ask Allah to send His blessings upon Prophet Ibrahim. More importantly, the direction in which every Muslim must face when praying is towards the Kabba, which was constructed by Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail.

In addition to facing the Kabba, every Muslim who has the ability is expected to visit the Kabba for Hajj once in their lifetime.
The Kabba is the central structure around which the Hajj takes place. No Hajj is valid without going around this structure in counterclockwise fashion seven times.

Secondly, Muslims who perform the Hajj or Umra must run in the middle portion of the distance between Safa and Marwa (two hills close to the Kabba) seven times.

This is a commemoration of the sacrifice of the wife of Abraham, Hajira (may Allah be pleased with her) for her son Prophet Ismail
Prophet Ibrahim had left his wife and son in the valley of Makkah by Allah’s order to pioneer a civilisation. It was from this civilization that the Prophet Mohammed was born.

Whoever drafted the law must have thought since Muslims follow the teachings of Mohammad they should be referred to as Mohammedans.
This perhaps was based on the assumption that several world religions are named after their alleged founders. Such faiths include Buddhism, Judaism, Bahaism, and Sikhism amongst others.